The "Middle East and Terrorism" Blog was created in order to supply information about the implication of Arab countries and Iran in terrorism all over the world. Most of the articles in the blog are the result of objective scientific research or articles written by senior journalists.

From the Ethics of the Fathers: "He [Rabbi Tarfon] used to say, it is not incumbent upon you to complete the task, but you are not exempt from undertaking it."

Friday, June 13, 2014

Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon says Israel
will not tolerate even a drizzle of rocket fire from Gaza after Israel
kills terrorist involved in multiple rocket attacks • Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu: This is the true face of Hamas.

Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon

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Photo credit: Yehoshua Yosef

"We will hunt down and lay our hands on anyone
who threatens us," Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon said Thursday, a day
after an Israeli Air Force strike killed a Gaza terrorist in the first
deadly violence between Israel and the Palestinians since the
establishment of a Palestinian unity government last week.

The late-night airstrike came hours after
Palestinian terrorists fired a rocket into southern Israel, the first
such attack since Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas formed
the new government and took charge, at least formally, of Gaza. Israel
has warned it would hold the Western-backed Abbas responsible for any
attacks out of the territory, even though the rival Hamas militant group
maintains de facto control.

"Last night the Israel Defense Forces and the
Shin Ben security agency killed a terrorist in the Gaza Strip who was
involved in rocket fire into Israel, and was planning future rocket and
terror attacks," Ya'alon said. "We will not overlook even a drizzle of
rocket fire or attempted terror attacks meant to disrupt the daily lives
of the residents of the south and target our forces."

"We will know how to take action, anywhere and
anytime, to pre-empt the intentions of terror organizations in the Gaza
Strip to target the lives of Israeli citizens, just like we did last
night," he added.

Meanwhile, witnesses of the airstrike
Wednesday night said it had targeted a man on a motorcycle and also
struck a nearby car. Palestinian medical officials said three people had
been wounded, two of them critically. They did not immediately identify
the casualties.

But in a statement, the Israeli military
identified the target as 33-year-old Mohammad Awwar, linked to "global
jihad," a term it uses to describe groups that are affiliated with or
inspired by al-Qaida. It said the man had participated in many rocket
attacks while also working as a Hamas policeman, and described the
airstrike as pre-emptive. The Shin Bet security agency stated that Awwar
had also planned to shoot down an Israeli helicopter.

"Our policy is clear. Kill those who rise up
to kill us," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement. "The
IDF and Shin Bet conducted a precise operation and will continue to act
with force against all those threatening the security of Israeli
citizens. ... This is the true face of Hamas -- it continues to plan
terror attacks against Israeli citizens while being part of the
Palestinian government," he said.

Netanyahu said he wanted to "remind" the
international community that Abbas had pledged the new government would
uphold previous agreements with Israel. "This means that he is
responsible for dismantling Hamas and other terror groups" in Gaza, he
said.

The threat of violence is one of the many
challenges Abbas is dealing with as he tries to unite two territories
after a seven-year rift. Hamas seized control of Gaza from Abbas' forces
in June 2007.

Under last week's deal, Abbas' new 17-member
cabinet is to administer both Gaza and parts of the West Bank. Hamas has
no formal role in the technocrat government, but it backs the unity
government and remains the de facto power in Gaza with thousands of
armed fighters.

The U.S. and European Union have so far been
willing to give Abbas a chance. The U.S. welcomed Abbas' condemnation
and suggested it was not ready to hold the new unity government
responsible for the attack.

"We expect the Palestinian Authority will do
everything in its power to prevent attacks from Gaza into Israel, but we
acknowledge the reality that Hamas currently controls Gaza," U.S. State
Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said.

Terrorists in Gaza, including members of
Hamas, have fired thousands of rockets at Israel over the years, though
Hamas mostly observed an informal truce in recent years. The West
considers Hamas a terrorist group because of scores of deadly attacks on
Israel, though Abbas has said the new cabinet will follow his pragmatic
program.

The unity government was meant to end a
crippling split between Abbas and Hamas, but the road to reconciliation
has been bumpy, with many issues unresolved.

Salary payments for more than 40,000
government employees hired by Hamas during the past seven years are a
key point of contention. Hamas wants them to be paid by the unity
government, though donor countries would likely balk at the idea of
seeing aid go for salaries for members of the Hamas security forces.

Hamas kept Gaza's banks closed for the past
week in an attempt to pressure Abbas to find a solution, but allowed the
banks to reopen Wednesday amid rising public anger against the group.
Long lines formed at cash machines as people rushed to withdraw their
salaries.

Tens of thousands of Abbas loyalists who
worked for his Palestinian Authority in Gaza before the Hamas takeover
have continued to receive salaries since 2007 on condition they not work
for the Hamas administration.

Hamas officials said no solution to the problem has been found and suggested the opening of the banks is temporary.

by Ben ShapiroTo order Ben Shapiro’s new book, “The People Vs. Barack Obama: The Criminal Case Against the Obama Administration,” click here.

President Barack Obama believes he is above the law.

That’s because he is.

This week alone, Obama announced that he would unilaterally change
student loan rules, allowing borrowers to avoid paying off more of their
debt; he signaled that he would continue his non-enforcement of
immigration law, even as thousands of children cross the border; he
defended his non-disclosure of a terrorist swap to Congress.

And, he said, more such actions were in the offing. “I will keep doing whatever I can without Congress,” Obama explained.

This is not just executive overreach. In many cases, Obama’s exercise
of authoritarian power is criminal. His executive branch is responsible
for violations of the Arms Export Control Act in shipping weapons to
Syria, the Espionage Act in Libya, and IRS law with regard to the
targeting of conservative groups. His executive branch is guilty of
involuntary manslaughter in Benghazi and in the Fast and Furious
scandal, and bribery in its allocation of waivers in Obamacare and tax
dollars in its stimulus spending. His administration is guilty of
obstruction of justice and witness tampering.And yet nothing is done.

Impeachment, which has been suggested as a solution by many, is a
non-starter. In the entire history of the republic, the House has
impeached just 19 officials, and just eight were actually removed from
office after Senate trial. Impeachment is a political solution to a
criminal problem — and politicians are far too fearful of blowback to
use it as a tool in upholding law.

Thanks to presidential immunity and executive control of the Justice
Department, there are no consequences to executive branch lawbreaking.
And when it comes to presidential lawbreaking, the sitting president
could literally strangle someone to death on national television and
meet with no consequences.

As Professor Akhil Reed Amar of Yale Law School has written, “a
sitting President is constitutionally immune from ordinary criminal
prosecution — state or federal.”
So what can we do? We can tell Congress to delegate its power to check
the executive branch. The Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations
Act creates a broad capacity for prosecution of criminal conspiracies;
it also provides for civil lawsuits against such conspiracies, turning
American citizens into, as the Supreme Court puts it, “‘private
attorneys general’ on a serious national problem for which public
prosecutorial resources are deemed inadequate.” Minor changes to the law
should allow citizens to sue federal officials within the executive
branch under RICO, unmasking criminal enterprises within the Obama
administration and future administrations.

The checks and balances of the Constitution have failed. The result
has been, for a century, the nearly unchecked growth of the power of the
executive branch. That growth has created an executive tyranny,
unanswerable and inescapable under law. Our legislators have proved
themselves too cowardly to fight back using the tools at their disposal.
They are obviously happy delegating their power to the executive
branch. Now it’s time for them to delegate their power to the people.Ben Shapiro is an attorney and writer and a Shillman Journalism Fellow at the
Freedom Center, and author of the new book “Primetime Propaganda: The
True Hollywood Story of How The Left Took Over Your TV” from Broadside
Books, an imprint of HarperCollins.Source: http://www.frontpagemag.com/2014/ben-shapiro/prosecute-the-president/ Copyright - Original materials copyright (c) by the authors.

Iraq is splintering into at least 3 pieces and president Obama hasn't lifted a finger to help

For
several months, the Iraqi Prime Minister, Nouri al-Maliki, has been
begging the US for manned or unmanned air strikes on the staging areas
for Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) forces. These are the
terrorists who have now captured 4 cities and are headed for Baghdad.
President Obama has refused. What we may see in the next few days in
Iraq is the government fleeing Baghdad and the Sunni terrorists holding a
large chunk of the country, in addition to territory they control in
next door Syria.

Boundary lines in the Middle East are being redrawn while the US sits on the sidelines.

Hoshyar
Zebari, Iraq’s foreign minister, last year floated the idea that armed
American-operated Predator or Reaper drones might be used to respond to
the expanding militant network in Iraq. American officials dismissed that suggestion at the time, saying that the request had not come from Mr. Maliki.

By
March, however, American experts who visited Baghdad were being told
that Iraq’s top leaders were hoping that American air power could be
used to strike the militants’ staging and training areas inside Iraq,
and help Iraq’s beleaguered forces stop them from crossing into Iraq
from Syria.

“Iraqi
officials at the highest level said they had requested manned and
unmanned U.S. airstrikes this year against ISIS camps in the Jazira
desert,” said Kenneth M. Pollack, a former C.I.A. analyst and National
Security Council official, who is a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution
and who visited Baghdad in early March. ISIS is the acronym for the
Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, as the militant group is known.

As
the Sunni insurgents have grown in strength those requests have
persisted. In a May 11 meeting with American diplomats and Gen. Lloyd J.
Austin III, the head of the Central Command, which oversees American
military operations in the Middle East, Mr. Maliki said he would like
the United States to provide Iraq with the ability to operate drones.
But if the United States was not willing to do that, Mr. Maliki
indicated he was prepared to allow the United States to carry out
strikes using warplanes or drones.

In
a May 16 phone call with Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr., Mr. Maliki
again suggested that the United States consider using American air
power. A written request repeating that point was submitted soon
afterward, officials said.

Some
experts say that such American military action could be helpful but
only if Mr. Maliki takes steps to make his government more inclusive.

“U.S.
military support for Iraq could have a positive effect but only if it
is conditioned on Maliki changing his behavior within Iraq’s political
system,” Mr. Pollack said. “He has to bring the Sunni community back in,
agree to limits on his executive authority and agree to reform Iraqi
security forces to make them more professional and competent.”

Also, the Kurds have moved into the vacuum created when Iraqi forces fled and taken the oil center of Kirkuk.
The Kurds have made no secret of their desire for a fully independent
state and the oil revenue from Kirkuk is an excellent means to fund such
a venture.

Iraq
is much to blame for their predicament. They refused to compromise on a
new status of forces agreement, insisiting that any American soldier
accused of breaking the law be tried in Iraqi courts. That just wasn't
going to happen, but many observers believe President Obama cut the
negotiations off prematurely. The consequence of that failure was that
all American forces were withdrawn in 2011, instead ofd a residual force
being left behind to continue training the Iraqi military.

By the looks of things, they could have used our expertise. The Iraqi army has collapsed.

And
as the Times notes, Maliki's Shia dictatorship has excluded Sunni's
from government jobs, the military and police, and has demonstrated
unrelenting hostility to them. ISIS recruiting has found fertile ground
in Sunni Iraq, and Maliki is paying for his religious fanaticism and
short sightedness.

Long
ago, it was proposed that Iraq be divided into three separate
countries; one for the Kurds, one for the Sunnis, and one for the Shias.
Most military and diplomatic experts at the time scoffed at the notion.

Now
it appears that this nightmare scenario is coming true. Anyone want to
bet when the Kurds are going to give back Kirkuk to the Baghdad
government? Or if the terrorists will even bother to negotiate better
terms for the Sunnis with Maliki?

We
are witnessing a terrorist state rising from the ruins of Iraq. And
using the resources they've already captured - much if it US military
equipment - the ISIS may take the fight to Bashar Assad in Syria as
well.

The
Taliban poised for an Afghanistan takeover when we leave. Pakistan
under seige from terorists. Syria and Iraq in flames. And President
Obama surveys the world and can only sit back and wait for the world
community to lead the way.

Military
force isn't always the answer. Except when it is. It may already be too
late to retreive the situation in Iraq. But don't worry. Obama will
blame Bush for everything and he will emerge unscathed; befuddled, but
unscathed.

It’s
subpoena time. And Hillary Clinton’s book tour may not be a warm-up for
a presidential campaign so much as a financial and ego exercise. There
will be hell to pay on the campaign trail, unless the GOP nominates a
dummy.

President
Obama is poised to reap a whirlwind of consequences for his conduct of
the war on terror. Iraq is falling into the hands of the enemy President
Bush had defeated on the battlefield. The fact that the Obama
administration lied to the American people about the Benghazi attack in
order to smooth his re-election makes his failures in conducting the
affairs of state not merely a matter of incompetence or honest mistakes
but actual venality.A new report makes these consequences closer to reality.

The
Obama administration knew that the Benghazi attack was carried out by
terrorists right away, because they listened in on cell phone
conversations between the raiders and their leaders, according to
testimony given by the first whistleblower to break through the wall of
silence. Bret Baier and James Rosen of Fox News (the most trusted
TV news source in America) have broken the story and put the lie to
Susan Rice, Hillary Clinton and all the president’s men and women.

The
terrorists who attacked the U.S. consulate and CIA annex in Benghazi on
September 11, 2012 used cell phones, seized from State Department
personnel during the attacks, and U.S. spy agencies overheard them
contacting more senior terrorist leaders to report on the success of the
operation, multiple sources confirmed to Fox News.The
disclosure is important because it adds to the body of evidence
establishing that senior U.S. officials in the Obama administration knew
early on that Benghazi was a terrorist attack, and not a spontaneous
protest over an anti-Islam video that had gone awry, as the
administration claimed for several weeks after the attacks.Eric
Stahl, who recently retired as a major in the U.S. Air Force, served as
commander and pilot of the C-17 aircraft that was used to transport the
corpses of the four casualties from the Benghazi attacks – then-U.S.
Ambassador to Libya Chris Stevens, information officer Sean Smith, and
former Navy SEALs Glen Doherty and Tyrone Woods – as well as the
assault’s survivors from Tripoli to the safety of an American military
base in Ramstein, Germany.In
an exclusive interview on Fox News’ “Special Report,” Stahl said
members of a CIA-trained Global Response Staff who raced to the scene of
the attacks were “confused” by the administration’s repeated
implication of the video as a trigger for the attacks, because “they
knew during the attack…who was doing the attacking.” Asked how, Stahl
told anchor Bret Baier: “Right after they left the consulate in Benghazi
and went to the [CIA] safehouse, they were getting reports that cell
phones, consulate cell phones, were being used to make calls to the
attackers' higher ups.”A
separate U.S. official, one with intimate details of the bloody events
of that night, confirmed the major’s assertion. The second source, who
requested anonymity to discuss classified data, told Fox News he had
personally read the intelligence reports at the time that contained
references to calls by terrorists – using State Department cell phones
captred at the consulate during the battle – to their terrorist leaders.
The second source also confirmed that the security teams on the ground
received this intelligence in real time.

The
report of the so-called Accountability Review Board – which is the
screen behind which Hillary Clinton is attempting to hide – did not
include any testimony from people with knowledge of these cell phone
conversations. The fact the cell phones were stolen and listened in on
does not appear in that report.

Major
Stahl was never interviewed by the Accountability Review Board, the
investigative panel convened, pursuant to statute, by then-Secretary of
State Hillary Clinton, as the official body reviewing all the
circumstances surrounding the attacks and their aftermath. Many
lawmakers and independent experts have criticized the thoroughness of
the ARB, which also never interviewed Clinton.In
his interview on “Special Report,” Stahl made still other disclosures
that add to the vast body of literature on Benghazi – sure to grow in
the months ahead, as a select House committee prepares for a
comprehensive probe of the affair, complete with subpoena power. Stahl
said that when he deposited the traumatized passengers at Ramstein, the
first individual to question the CIA security officers was not an FBI
officer but the senior State Department diplomat on the ground.

Last
week, the lawlessness of Obama’s non-deportation policy came home to
roost when Homeland Security (DHS) estimated 60,000 “unaccompanied alien
children” were expected to enter the country illegally this year. The
figures have since gone up to 90,000, which is more than a ten-fold increase from 2011. Unsurprisingly, according to interviews
with those caught, the news waves are directly related to Obama’s
rolling orders to DHS to ramp up amnesty efforts wherever possible.
Yesterday, Senator Cornyn
of Texas called Obama’s continued amnesty push an “extremely dangerous
incentive for children” and “a painful example of the law of unintended
consequences.”

Stories have been ongoing
of illegal alien children, teens and adults being flown around the
Border States in search of any government facility that may have
available space. After it was reported last week that Greyhound stations
in Phoenix were becoming drop-off points for detained-illegals flown in
from border-checkpoints in Texas, Arizona’s Governor Brewer fired off a
letter to the President asking him to end his “unconscionable policy.”

Considering the depth and scale of Obama’s
subversion of our immigration laws, the prospect of thousands more
children and teens illegally entering the country won’t likely change
his approach to border security any time soon. After all, as it was
revealed last December, DHS has actually been directly and proactively
facilitating human-trafficking for quite some time.

In the case of U.S. v. Nava-Martinez,
border agents busted a repeat-felon attempting to smuggle a 10-year old
El Salvadorian girl across a checkpoint in Texas later discovering that
the operation was organized by the girl’s mother, an illegal alien
living in Virginia. But when the agents contacted DHS officials they
refused to arrange for her arrest. Instead, according to Judge Andrew
Hanen of the Southern District Court of Texas, DHS “successfully
complet(ed) the mission of the criminal conspiracy” by flying the child
to her mother in Virginia at taxpayer expense.

The order issued by Judge Hanen is a crushing rebuke of Obama’s DHS. In it he warns that such immoral and illegal policies would dramatically increase the number of minors
attempting to make the dangerous trip across the border. With DHS’s new
estimates and the huge problems hitting the Border States, we can now
see how right the good judge was.

In just the previous month alone, Judge Hanen
had seen four cases of “DHS completing [a] criminal conspiracy… by
delivering [minors caught at the border] to the custody of parents
illegally living in the United States.” In none of the cases were the
children detained or the illegal alien parent deported.

Besides the concerns that DHS’s facilitation
of illegal activities works to decrease border agents’ morale and helps
fund drug cartels (the chief operators of human smuggling rings), the
remarkably prescient judge had noted that such a policy “undermines the
deterrent effect the laws may have and inspires others to commit further
violations.” The consequences of this undermining effect we’re now
seeing and hopefully it’s becoming clear to the elite and media classes
just how dangerous it is to play politics with immigration enforcement.

Since the first amnesty in 1986, the illegal alien population has ballooned from 3 million to 12 million
with most of that increase coming in the last decade. Obama’s first
administrative amnesty in 2012, the “Deferred Action for Children
Arrivals” program, applied specifically to children and young adults,
which, along with further mini-amnesties since, has acted as an
announcement to the people of Mexico and Central America that the US is
not at all serious about its border security.

Who knows what the next round of figures from
DHS will be, but it’s possible they’ll be double or even triple the
recent estimates. The same goes for deaths at the border,
which have already been on the increase since Obama started his
amnesty-push. As Judge Hanen devastatingly wrote at the close of his
order, if DHS persists with such a policy, “more children are going to
be harmed, and DHS will be partly responsible because it encourages this
kind of Russian roulette.” It’s now time for Obama and Democrats to
finally consider the consequences of their policies, which harm citizens
on both sides of the border, and turn off the amnesty magnet.

The recent victories in Iraq and Syria by the terrorists of ISIS -- said to be an offshoot of al-Qaeda -- have emboldened the group and its followers throughout the Middle East. Now the terrorists are planning to move their jihad not only to Jordan, but also to the Gaza Strip, Sinai and Lebanon.Failure to act will result in the establishment in the Middle East of a dangerous extremist Islamic empire that will pose a threat to American and Western interests."The danger is getting closer to our bedrooms." — Oraib al-Rantawi, Jordanian political analyst

Islamist terrorists in Iraq and Syria have begun creeping toward neighboring countries, sources close to the Islamic fundamentalists revealed this week.The terrorists, who belong to The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria [ISIS -- known as DAESH in Arabic] and are said to be an offshoot of al-Qaeda, are planning to take their jihad to Jordan, Lebanon, the Gaza Strip and the Sinai Peninsula -- after having already captured large parts of Syria and Iraq, the sources said.The capture this week by ISIS of the cities of Mosul and Tikrit in Iraq has left many Arabs and Muslims in the region worried that their countries soon may be targeted by the terrorists, who seek to create a radical Islamist emirate in the Middle East.According to the sources, ISIS leader Abu Baker al-Baghdadi recently discussed with his lieutenants the possibility of extending the group's control beyond Syria and Iraq.One of the ideas discussed envisages focusing ISIS's efforts on Jordan, where Islamist movements already have a significant presence. Jordan was also chosen because it has shared borders with Iraq and Syria, making it easier for the terrorists to infiltrate the kingdom.Jordanian political analyst Oraib al-Rantawi sounded alarm bells by noting that the ISIS threat to move its fight to the kingdom was real and imminent. "We in Jordan cannot afford the luxury of just waiting and monitoring," he cautioned. "The danger is getting closer to our bedrooms. It has become a strategic danger; it is no longer a security threat from groups or cells. We must start thinking outside the box. The time has come to increase coordination and cooperation with the regimes in Baghdad and Damascus to contain the crawling of extremism and terrorism."The ISIS terrorists see Jordan's Western-backed King Abdullah as an enemy of Islam and an infidel, and have publicly called for his execution. ISIS terrorists recently posted a video on YouTube in which they threatened to "slaughter" Abdullah, whom they denounced as a "tyrant." Some of the terrorists who appeared in the video were Jordanian citizens who tore up their passports in front of the camera and vowed to launch suicide attacks inside the kingdom.

A Jordanian ISIS terrorist wearing a suicide bomb belt and holding his Jordanian passport declares his willingness to wage jihad in an ISIS video. (Image source: All Eyes on Syria YouTube video)

Security sources in Amman expressed deep concern over ISIS's threats and plans to "invade" the kingdom. The sources said that King Abdullah has requested urgent military aid from the U.S. and other Western countries so that he could foil any attempt to turn Jordan into an Islamist-controlled state.Marwan Shehadeh, an expert on Islamist groups, said he did not rule out the possibility that ISIS would target Jordan because it views the Arab regimes, including Jordan's Hashemites, as "infidels" and "apostates" who should be fought.The recent victories by ISIS terrorists in Iraq and Syria have emboldened the group and its followers throughout the Middle East. Now the terrorists are planning to move their jihad not only to Jordan, but also to the Gaza Strip, Sinai and Lebanon.This is all happening under the watching eyes of the U.S. Administration and Western countries, who seem to be uncertain as to what needs to be done to stop the Islamist terrorists from invading neighboring countries.ISIS is a threat not only to moderate Arabs and Muslims, but also to Israel, which the terrorists say is their ultimate destination. The U.S. and its Western allies need to wake up quickly and take the necessary measures to prevent the Islamist terrorists from achieving their goal.Failure to act will result in the establishment in the Middle East of a dangerous extremist Islamist empire that will pose a threat to American and Western interests.Khaled Abu ToamehSource: http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/4354/isis-jordan Copyright - Original materials copyright (c) by the authors.

Thursday, June 12, 2014

Sky News reported on June 3 that senior leaders at three schools in Birmingham alerted the government more than two decades ago about the rising influence of Muslim extremists in the school system, but that their concerns were dismissed because of political correctness.Separately, the BBC reported on May 28 and June 2 that [there were similar warnings] in 2010 and 2008. But no action was taken in either case."Some staff told Her Majesty's Inspectors that thy feel afraid to speak out against recent changes in the academy for fear of losing their jobs." — Inspection report, Oldknow Academy.

British regulators have placed five Muslim-dominated public schools in the city of Birmingham under "special measures" after inspectors found that pupils there were being systematically exposed to radical Islamic propaganda.Ofsted, the agency that regulates British schools, carried out emergency inspections of 21 primary and secondary public schools in Birmingham after a document surfaced in March 2014 that purported to outline a plot—dubbed Operation Trojan Horse—by Muslim fundamentalists to Islamize public schools in England and Wales.The inspection reports, which Ofsted made public on June 9, show that Muslim hardliners are indeed seeking to run at least five public schools in Birmingham according to a "conservative Islamic perspective." But the report does not cite evidence of an organized plot by extremists.Ofsted inspectors found that one school was playing the Muslim call to prayer over loudspeakers in the playground, while another was found with books promoting stoning, lashing and execution. Yet another school had invited a Muslim hate preacher known for his support of militant Islam to speak to students.In some schools, girls are actively being dissuaded from speaking to boys and from taking part in extra-curricular visits and activities. Boys and girls are also taught separately in religious education and personal development lessons.The inspection report for the Nansen Primary School reveals that when teachers wanted pupils to take part in a nativity play, Muslim administrators "insisted on vetting a copy of the script for its suitability and told staff they must not use a doll as the baby Jesus." The report also says:

"Pupils do not get a broad education. Subjects such as art and music have been removed for some year groups at the insistence of the governing body."Pupils have only a superficial knowledge and understanding of religions and beliefs other than Islam. The lack of leadership of religious education means that teachers are ill-informed about what to teach and how to teach this subject. Pupils' cultural development is inadequate because the academy does not help pupils to develop an understanding of the diversity of traditions, religions and customs in modern British society. This leaves pupils at risk of cultural isolation."Currently, the academy has a weekly whole-school assembly, which is of an Islamic character. The governing body has not received permission from the Education Funding Agency for an exemption from providing a broadly Christian act of worship. This means that [the] governing body fails to meet this aspect of their responsibilities."

The inspection report for the Oldknow Academy says the school is "taking on the practices of an Islamic faith school" and that non-Muslim staff and pupils have been excluded from an annual trip to Saudi Arabia for three years running. The report adds:

"The curriculum is inadequate because it does not foster an appreciation of, and respect for, pupils' own or other cultures. It does not promote tolerance and harmony between different cultural traditions. In addition, a small group of governors is making significant changes to the ethos and culture of the academy without full consultation. They are endeavoring to promote a particular and narrow faith-based ideology in what is a maintained and non-faith academy."Some staff told Her Majesty's Inspectors that they feel afraid to speak out against recent changes in the academy for fear of losing their jobs."Currently, the academy has two Islamic faith assemblies each week and additional, optional Friday prayer. Birmingham City Mission has been delivering Christian Acts of Collective Worship at Oldknow, once a term, since 2006. Its recent assembly was cancelled and the Mission's offer of an alternative date was not taken up. No further visits have been requested. The academy's Christmas special assembly was also cancelled."During a recent academy fête, raffles and tombolas were banned because they are considered un-Islamic."During the inspection senior leaders told Her Majesty's Inspectors that a madrasa [a school for teaching Islamic theology] had been established in the academy and had been paid for from the academy's budget."

In a so-called advice note summarizing the inspections, Ofsted Director Michael Wilshaw writes that his inspectors found a "culture of fear and intimidation" in some schools and that not enough was being done to "protect children from extremism." He adds:

"Some head teachers, including those with a proud record of raising standards, said that they have been marginalized or forced out of their jobs."Some head teachers reported that there has been an organised campaign to target certain schools in Birmingham in order to alter their character and ethos."In one primary school, governors opposed the head teacher's commitment to mixed-gender swimming lessons. The Chair of Governors in another school, against the wishes of the head teacher, introduced madrasa programs of study into the personal, health and social education curriculum."The evidence shows that governors have recently exerted inappropriate influence on policy and the day-to-day running of several schools in Birmingham. In other schools, leaders have struggled to resist attempts by governing bodies to use their powers to change the school in line with governors' personal views."In several of the schools inspected, children are being badly prepared for life in modern Britain. It is my view that the active promotion of a narrow set of values and beliefs in some of the schools is making children vulnerable to segregation and emotional dislocation from wider society."They do not ensure that a broad and balanced curriculum equips pupils to live and work in a multi-cultural, multi-faith and democratic Britain. As a result, children are not being encouraged to develop tolerant attitudes towards all faiths and all cultures.

Wilshaw also berates the Birmingham City Council for failing to "keep pupils safe from the potential risks of radicalization and extremism."In response to the findings, British Education Secretary Michael Gove told Parliament on June 9 that from now on, all 20,000 primary and secondary schools in the United Kingdom will be required to "actively promote British values."Gove also said he would revamp the regulatory process to allow more centralized control of British schools. Moreover, he promised to draft new rules allowing Ofsted to conduct snap inspections of any school with no warning.The move comes amid reports that the previous practice of giving advance notice of an inspection allowed schools in Birmingham to put on hastily arranged shows of cultural inclusivity.A report by the Education Funding Agency—which conducted its own investigation of the so-called Trojan Horse schools—indicated that school administrators ordered teachers to temporarily add Christianity to the learning schedule to appease visiting inspectors.This may explain why several of the schools that failed Ofsted inspections in 2014 were rated good or outstanding in 2012 and 2013.But the heads of the downgraded schools say they are the subject of a government witch-hunt. David Hughes, the vice chair of Park View Educational Trust—which runs three of the schools at the center of the row—said he would file a lawsuit against the government to try to force Ofsted to reverse its findings. In a statement Hughes said:

"We wholeheartedly dispute the validity of these gradings. Park View, Golden Hillock and Nansens are categorically not inadequate schools. Our Ofsted inspections were ordered in a climate of suspicion, created by the hoax Trojan letter and by the anonymous unproven allegations about our schools in the media. Ofsted inspectors came to our schools looking for extremism, looking for segregation, looking for proof that our children have religion forced upon them as part of an Islamic plot."

Meanwhile, Sky News reported on June 3 that senior leaders at three schools in Birmingham alerted the government more than two decades ago about the rising influence of Muslim extremists in the school system, but that their concerns were dismissed because of political correctness.In a letter to education ministers—copied to then Prime Minister John Major—the school heads warned that the extremist group Hizb ut-Tahrir was gaining an alarming influence over schools in Birmingham.The former chair of governors at Golden Hillock School, John Ray, told Sky News that had the government acted back then, the current trend—in which conservative Muslims have been able to dominate school leaderships—could have been averted."The Trojan Horse plot reveals something, something that is true," Ray said. "It reveals a mess that the city council has not been able to check—the development of this whole infiltration of this ceding in of governors of one particular ideology. They are not people who have the welfare of these children at heart.""I think the city council but also central government and all parties were very reluctant to question the received wisdom that suggests it is fair enough that a separate Islamic identity should be stressed," Ray added.Separately, the BBC reported on June 2 that Birmingham officials were warned that hardline Muslims were trying to extend their influence in Birmingham schools as early as 2008. The BBC also reported on May 28 that the British Education Ministry was warned of the same problem in 2010, about three years before the document alleging the Trojan Horse plot became public. But no action was taken in either case.Soeren Kern is a Senior Fellow at the New York-based Gatestone Institute. He is also Senior Fellow for European Politics at the Madrid-based Grupo de Estudios Estratégicos / Strategic Studies Group. Follow him on Facebook and on Twitter.Source: http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/4352/islam-birmingham-schools Copyright - Original materials copyright (c) by the authors.

Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon: Claims that Israel will turn into an apartheid state are "nonsense" • Senior Hamas leader Hassan Yousef: Since reconciliation pact was signed, the gap between Fatah and Hamas has widened.

Claims that Israel will turn into an apartheid state are "nonsense," Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon (Likud) said in an address at the 14th annual Herzliya Conference on Tuesday.

Ya'alon said that instead of a "land for peace" paradigm, there has been "land for terror" and "land for rockets from Gaza" reality.

"The Palestinian Authority, which is considered moderate, denies our right to a national home," Ya'alon said. "If you don't understand that, then you don't understand why the conflict remains unresolved."

"The Palestinian reconciliation is misrepresented," Ya'alon said. "If anything happens as a result of the reconciliation, it will be Hamas' takeover of Judea and Samaria."

Meanwhile, a Hamas leader accused Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah party on Tuesday of jeopardizing the Palestinian reconciliation deal, just a week after a unity government was formed.

Problems between the two sides surfaced just days after the new administration took office, when it failed to pay some 40,000 civil servants hired by Hamas in the Gaza Strip, saying the employees had to be vetted before receiving their salary.

Credit: Reuters

Angry police loyal to Hamas in Gaza ordered the closure of all banks in the coastal enclave until the issue was resolved, dealing a fresh blow to an already sickly economy.

The tensions shifted to the West Bank on Monday, when Hamas said that security forces loyal to Abbas used violence to break up a rally organized by the movement and had assaulted senior Hamas leader Hassan Yousef.

"Since the reconciliation pact was signed, the gap between us and Fatah and the security services has got bigger," Yousef told reporters in Ramallah on Tuesday.

"This is not a unity," Yousef said. "They are doing this to push us to say we do not want reconciliation. We want reconciliation." Yousef accused Abbas' policemen of confiscating green Hamas flags and detaining the group's supporters.

A security source in the West Bank said police intervened after protesters began chanting slogans against the Palestinian Authority.

Yousef denied that and called on the Palestinian Authority to say "whether Hamas was a banned group in the West Bank."

In a sign of the mutual animosity that exists between the two groups, Fatah accused Hamas activists of attacking their supporters in Hebron on Monday, leaving four people needing hospital care.

Azzam al-Ahmed, a senior Fatah official, condemned the closure of Gaza's banks and said the new administration was not to blame for the problem. It could take four months to complete the vetting process, he said.

"We affirm our confidence in the unity government and we reject attempts to doubt it or hold it responsible for the problem," he said. "The government is not responsible for the latest problem [delay of salaries]."

Israeli authorities have urged foreign allies to shun the Palestinian unity government because it enjoys the backing of Hamas, a terrorist group which refuses to recognize Israel's right to exist.

But Western governments, including the United States, have pledged to work with Abbas' new administration.

Ordinary Palestinians had hoped that after years of failed attempts to end the stand-off between the two factions, the creation of a government of technocrats would pave the way to genuine reconciliation and long-delayed elections.

However, tensions in Gaza have only worsened, with Hamas employees furious that while they had not been paid, staff tied to the Palestinian Authority had received a salary.

Hamas itself had struggled to pay its staff in recent months, one of the reasons why the group decided to sign last week's accord with Abbas and dissolve its own government in Gaza.

After Hamas violently seized control of Gaza in 2007, the Palestinian Authority continued to pay its old 70,000-strong workforce in the enclave, even though the majority of them no longer worked.

Some of them are now meant to return to their old duties, but it was not clear how they would be reintegrated, or how long it would take to vet all the civil servants hired by Hamas.

Looking to apply pressure on the new unity government, Hamas police have ordered the closure of all of Gaza's banks, creating a fresh headache for local businesses.

Merchants importing goods from Israel or abroad were seeking new ways to pay their counterparts.

"It is catastrophic if we cannot pay for food and fuel. Israeli merchants won't send goods here for free," said Sami Abu Ahmed, a Gaza businessman. "It will cause a disaster here."

Ehab Bessaiso, a spokesman for the unity government, said the administration was looking to resolve the problems and urged both sides to avoid causing further tensions that "harm our interests and hinders the government from doing its duties."

Claims that Israel will turn into an apartheid state are "nonsense," Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon (Likud) said in an address at the 14th annual Herzliya Conference on Tuesday.

Ya'alon said that instead of a "land for peace" paradigm, there has been "land for terror" and "land for rockets from Gaza" reality.

"The Palestinian Authority, which is considered moderate, denies our right to a national home," Ya'alon said. "If you don't understand that, then you don't understand why the conflict remains unresolved."

"The Palestinian reconciliation is misrepresented," Ya'alon said. "If anything happens as a result of the reconciliation, it will be Hamas' takeover of Judea and Samaria."

Meanwhile, a Hamas leader accused Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah party on Tuesday of jeopardizing the Palestinian reconciliation deal, just a week after a unity government was formed.

Problems between the two sides surfaced just days after the new administration took office, when it failed to pay some 40,000 civil servants hired by Hamas in the Gaza Strip, saying the employees had to be vetted before receiving their salary.Credit: ReutersAngry police loyal to Hamas in Gaza ordered the closure of all banks in the coastal enclave until the issue was resolved, dealing a fresh blow to an already sickly economy.

The tensions shifted to the West Bank on Monday, when Hamas said that security forces loyal to Abbas used violence to break up a rally organized by the movement and had assaulted senior Hamas leader Hassan Yousef.

"Since the reconciliation pact was signed, the gap between us and Fatah and the security services has got bigger," Yousef told reporters in Ramallah on Tuesday.

"This is not a unity," Yousef said. "They are doing this to push us to say we do not want reconciliation. We want reconciliation." Yousef accused Abbas' policemen of confiscating green Hamas flags and detaining the group's supporters.

A security source in the West Bank said police intervened after protesters began chanting slogans against the Palestinian Authority.

Yousef denied that and called on the Palestinian Authority to say "whether Hamas was a banned group in the West Bank."

In a sign of the mutual animosity that exists between the two groups, Fatah accused Hamas activists of attacking their supporters in Hebron on Monday, leaving four people needing hospital care.

Azzam al-Ahmed, a senior Fatah official, condemned the closure of Gaza's banks and said the new administration was not to blame for the problem. It could take four months to complete the vetting process, he said.

"We affirm our confidence in the unity government and we reject attempts to doubt it or hold it responsible for the problem," he said. "The government is not responsible for the latest problem [delay of salaries]."

Israeli authorities have urged foreign allies to shun the Palestinian unity government because it enjoys the backing of Hamas, a terrorist group which refuses to recognize Israel's right to exist.

But Western governments, including the United States, have pledged to work with Abbas' new administration.

Ordinary Palestinians had hoped that after years of failed attempts to end the stand-off between the two factions, the creation of a government of technocrats would pave the way to genuine reconciliation and long-delayed elections.

However, tensions in Gaza have only worsened, with Hamas employees furious that while they had not been paid, staff tied to the Palestinian Authority had received a salary.

Hamas itself had struggled to pay its staff in recent months, one of the reasons why the group decided to sign last week's accord with Abbas and dissolve its own government in Gaza.

After Hamas violently seized control of Gaza in 2007, the Palestinian Authority continued to pay its old 70,000-strong workforce in the enclave, even though the majority of them no longer worked.

Some of them are now meant to return to their old duties, but it was not clear how they would be reintegrated, or how long it would take to vet all the civil servants hired by Hamas.

Looking to apply pressure on the new unity government, Hamas police have ordered the closure of all of Gaza's banks, creating a fresh headache for local businesses.

Merchants importing goods from Israel or abroad were seeking new ways to pay their counterparts.

"It is catastrophic if we cannot pay for food and fuel. Israeli merchants won't send goods here for free," said Sami Abu Ahmed, a Gaza businessman. "It will cause a disaster here."

Ehab Bessaiso, a spokesman for the unity government, said the administration was looking to resolve the problems and urged both sides to avoid causing further tensions that "harm our interests and hinders the government from doing its duties."